zangetsu
by Demonlover3
Summary: Fate is ever changing as one Naruto Uzumaki discovered a strange badge in Nami no Kuni that forever change the events to come. adopted from Arch-Daishou
1. Chapter 1 Awakening

I don't own naruto or bleach

 **Chapter 1**

 **Awakening**

It was safe to say that for their first true battle, Team 7 wasn't just nervous; they were outright afraid. Encountering the Demon Brothers Gozu and Meiru was bad enough, but encountering Zabuza Momochi, one of the deadly legendary seven swordsmen of Kirigakure, could have been tantamount to suicide at this point. In other words, following the most simple of ideologies, the moment Zabuza appeared, 'All hell had broken loose'. Yet through that chaos, a young Genin found the courage deep within himself to fight head to head against a Jounin-class missing-nin.

And, in doing so, Naruto Uzumaki certainly proved to live up to the name "The Most Unpredictable Ninja of Konohagakure". The moment their sensei Kakashi Hatake, the copy-cat ninja, was trapped in bubble of water, both he and his teammate/rival Sasuke Uchiha went up against Zabuza, while the third Genin of Team 7, Sakura Haruno, protected their charge the bridge builder Tazuna.

While both knew they could not beat one the seven swordsmen alone – the man could eat a hundred Genin of their level without a sweat, for Kami's sake - they knew damn well they could make enough of a stir to free their sensei. When Sasuke threw his demon shuriken, Naruto caught the swordsman completely off guard by transforming himself into a copy of the shuriken and hid his own trajectory in the shadow of the original before ending the transformation and throwing a kunai that the original Zabuza was unable to dodge and therefore had to disrupt his Water Prison Jutsu. In one move he was able to free his sensei, which, in kind, went on the attack against the Demon of the Mist.

He even was able to take out the Water Bunshin in the process as a bonus.

In the end, Kakashi proved the victor by using his Sharingan eye to copy all of Zabuza's moves and psyche the man out badly enough to pause in his jutsu, allowing Kakashi to hit him first. Before he could kill the man, though, a masked hunter Nin from Kiri that was searching for the swordsman ended him with three well-placed senbon to the neck. After the hunter Nin gave his thanks and left with Zabuza's body, Team 7 resumed their trek to Nami. Unfortunately, they had not taken all but two steps when Kakashi collapsed from chakra exhaustion.

Naruto and Sasuke both had to carry their sensei through Nami, but eventually they reached Tazuna's house. They were greeted at the door by his daughter Tsunami, who was surprise seeing children being ninja but was quick to help them take their unconscious sensei to a room so he could rest.

After they entered a spare room, they laid Kakashi on the bed before a tired Naruto and Sasuke both sat down to catch their breath. Sakura sat down beside them as _her_ boys shared a pointed look with each other, as if confirming something between them.

"What's wrong you guys?" Sakura asked, seeing their looks.

"Something was not right about that Hunter Nin," Sasuke answered.

"Jiji always told me Hunter Nin got rid of the bodies by beheading them and then destroying the remains with something like a fire jutsu. They don't drag them off, Sakura-Chan," Naruto also comments.

Sasuke gave a deadpan look at his blond teammate; "You mean you're actually capable of paying attention, dobe? The world must be ending."

Naruto glared back at the pale boy. "Bite me, teme."

"Naru-Baka; stop insulting Sasuke-Kun!" Sakura quickly yelled at Naruto in defense of her crush.

Shaking his head, the orange-clad blond stood up. "I'm going to get some air," he said with a hint of coldness in his voice.

As he left the room, Sakura was taken by surprise at the gaze her teammate gave her. The normal, lively devil-may-care flare was gone, and, for the briefest moment, she swore he looked so hurt and alone. Sakura never saw that kind of look on Naruto's face before, and for some strange reason, it made her feel horrible inside.

 _Why did he look at me like that?_

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The young _'hunter-nin'_ was squatting beside Zabuza's body, slowly unfolding a leather roll with various medical tools. He turned to look at Zabuza, trying to find any damage that may have been done. Other than a few scratches here and there, the only problem right now was the long senbon needles in his neck. He looked analyzing in the area where he had hit him with the needles carefully.

"It seems I have to cut the wrappings off his mouth first, and make him cough up the blood first."

He took a scissor-like tool from the scroll, and slowly closed in on the clothes. When his hand was no more than a few centimeters from the target, Zabuza's hand shot up and grabbed the fake hunter-nin's.

"I can do that on my own, thank you very much" it came from Zabuza, as he slowly opened his eyes, and began to rip the wrappings off.

"Oh, Finally awaken I see," the Hunter Nin said calmly.

The Kiri swordsman slowly sits up with a groan; "sadistic as ever I see, damn you're rough." Zabuza spoke up as he pulled out the senbon.

The hunter Nin frowned under the mask shaking his head; "could you please be more careful pulling those out Zabuza-Sama. One wrong mistake could cause internal bleeding and you could truly die."

Though he was listening he really did not care as he pulled out the final senbon. Rubbing his throat he looks over annoying at the Hunter Nin; "take off that damn mask as stop acting like a boy Haku. It's creepy as hell"

"Sorry about that, I like wearing so much I forget it is on. It was your idea to hide my gender if I recall Zabuza-Sama. With this special battle Kimono and my bindings over my breasts along with the mask people can't tell if I am a boy or girl." The brunette paused as she took off her mask.

"Though it did help pull off the act and fool the shinobi from Konoha. If I didn't intervene when I did, you would have been killed for sure"

Zabuza grumbled; "Damn that Kakashi, catching my off guard like that with his Sharingan. Then there was that little blond punk," the Kiri swordsman seethed. "Little _Chibi_ bastard actually was clever enough to use the Kage Bunshin like that to make me drop the water prison Jutsu."

"Appearances can prove deceiving?" Zabuza dryly glares at his apprentice. "He seemed rather unique compared to the Uchiha and the rosette haired Kunoichi."

 _He was a loudmouth idiot wearing a Kami forsaken orange jumpsuit. What self-respected Shinobi would happily wear that fucking ugly color in broad daylight?_ Zabuza blinked; _why the hell am I even thinking about that? I am going to slaughter that runt for ruining my fun._

While her master was mentally musing on how many ways he could kill a whisker cheeked blond Haku was wrapped into her own thoughts. _Though you hid it well amongst your comrades, I saw the real you. Why do you hide your true self Uzumaki?_

She looks at her Anbu mask on the ground; _and why does my heart tell me you're like me…_

"Least we found Gozu and Meiru before they were picked up by the Konoha Anbu. Shall we let them help us Zabuza-Sama?"

The Kiri swordsman was silent for a minute as he let his thoughts roam in his head. There would be strength in numbers and he can focus on solely on Hatake while Haku and the brothers can deal with those Genin brats. As far as he saw the blond and the Uchiha would be a challenge to the demon brothers, but they would not last against Haku. And getting them out of the way to kill the bridge builder would be a bonus.

"Might as well. We will figure out the plan later. Now let's get out of this forest so I can recover."

"Hai."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting on the rooftop of Tazuna's house, the blond Genin looked up at the moon. With hardly any cloud cover, the stars shined brightly for anyone staying up tonight. The wind breezed just enough to sway his hair and clothes a little without making him too cold. While normally Naruto would sit back and enjoy the view, his thoughts were elsewhere. As he dropped the fake persona he normally showed, a calm stoic expression took its place.

While a part of his thoughts were consumed about Zabuza and the _'hunter Nin'_ , the rest focused about his team. While he was happy he got on a team with his lifelong crush, he also knew she would completely ignore him with Sasuke being there as well. He honestly did respect the Uchiha's skills – he was the top student in the Academy for a reason, though he wouldn't go so far as to call him a prodigy like Itachi was – but he had never cared for the other boy's personality. Granted, if he had watched his entire clan be slaughtered by his own brother, he'd be pretty pissed too. However, shutting yourself off to everyone that could help you and acting as if you were superior enough to not need them was just wrong.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he looked to his left to see a forest area nearby the house. He watched as leaves and branches swayed in the wind, reminding him a little of the trees back home. Then his eye quickly focused on what he thought was a silhouette of a tall man under one of trees. However, before he could grab a kunai, the man vanished. Knowing it could be a possible threat, Naruto quickly leapt off the roof and chased after the man.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Shifting through his last papers for the night, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, chewed on his old pipe. He was basically working on autopilot; though working his mind was more focused on his surrogate grandson. While, of course, he was proud of Naruto becoming a Shinobi, he had thought that his grandson would finally drop that false persona by now. While shamefully admitting he should have been there more for Naruto than he was, his grandson always said he knew his Ojisan was busy, though Sarutobi could see the loneliness in Naruto's eyes.

 _I am grateful at least the Anbu detail that were assigned to watch over him as a child deeply grew to care for him like he was their little brother. Though I am still amazed how much you care for my grandson Yugao. To treat Naruto like he is your son, especially after what happened to you when protecting him. I just wish I could have lessened the missions for them back then so they could have been Naruto more often._

Though he saw how happy Naruto was while being on a Genin team, he could tell the boy was more excited about one member being on their team especially. Hiruzen knew full well about his grandson's crush on the Haruno girl, but sadly, she fell into the line of being a fan girl to the Uchiha boy than a true Kunoichi. The strange thing was, something about that always felt off to the old Hokage, as if those feelings for Sasuke were not real. He knew all about young Haruno's life, since for the most part of it, she was alone like Naruto, save for her parents. But when she met the Yamanaka heiress Ino, she became more open. While happy that she had finally found someone she could be friends with, Hiruzen noticed along the short years after Sasuke came into the mix, Sakura had changed - and not for the better.

 _Tetsu and Kiyuriko Haruno even came to me and pleaded that something was wrong with their daughter. Perhaps I should have investigated further._

He often wondered if those feelings were pushed onto her by someone. Often times, the actions she performed were so incredibly sudden and extreme, he couldn't help but wonder if something was forcing them. It could explain why Sakura and the Yamanaka girl stopped being friends. Did young Ino have something to do with it? He wondered if it would be a good idea to speak to Sakura about that. If she was not careful, she could endanger everyone on their missions, who could get her or, Kami forbid, Naruto killed. He knew full well his grandson would rush to protect her if the pinkette was ever in danger.

 _I am going to have to speak with the girl when she returns to the village. Best I find the root of this problem before it grows uncontrollable._

His eyes soon instantly narrowed as he looked sharply at his crystal ball on the side of his desk. The sphere was engulfed by what looked like black flames with a crimson-tipped outline. Soon, a beam of black and red flames shot up, nearly reaching the ceiling. The windows behind him suddenly cracked by the force of the flame's energy, and suddenly the flames quickly vanished.

The old Kage's eyes widened when a figure appeared in the ball. The person was standing in the middle of a forest, engulfed by the black red flames.

His old pipe dropped from his mouth as he whispered out, "Naruto..."

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

The whisker-cheeked boy in question was jumping through the trees trying to find the man he saw before. He was moving as fast as he could, but the man just seemed be that much faster. Could it be a ninja? Did Zabuza's accomplice or another ally come out to scout out their position? If so, then why didn't they attack? With Kakashi out like a light from his exhaustion, it would have been relatively easy for another Jounin to just break into the house and kill all of them. Or did this person hope to pick them all off one by one? After all, they had to have seen Naruto make a bunch of Kage Bunshin during their fight with Zabuza, so maybe they were hoping to get him alone and kill him out here where it wasn't so confined. Kage Bunshin weren't all that resilient, but facing twenty to fifty of them inside a house could be considered suicide - even for a Jounin.

As he kept going through various scenarios, he slipped a kunai out of his pouch and gripped it while forming a little chakra. If they wanted him out of the picture, then he'd make sure to give them a fight.

He finally landed in a clearing near a small waterfall connected to a small river. Looking in all directions, he did not see the man he was chasing down. Assuming that they had gotten away – and no doubt reporting in with Zabuza – he let out a deep sigh and walked over to the edge of the river. The light from the full moon above gave him a good view of himself in the water. However, his eyes widened in shock when instead of seeing own reflection, he saw someone else.

Reflected back in the water was very tall man in maybe his late thirties staring back at him. He had pale skin, high cheekbones, stubble, and long ragged black hair with brown highlights. His attire consisted of a tattered white dress shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs, black pants, low-heeled boots, and a long, amorphous black overcoat with a burgundy highlight that flared out into ragged ends. On his face, he wore brown-tinted, semi-transparent wraparound sunglasses.

A chill ran down Naruto's spine, as he could feel the man's piercing gaze look straight through him. It was as if he was trying to look into the boy's very soul. Soon, the man slowly vanished, much the boy's relief, but he quickly noticed an object floating in the water. Hexagon in shape, it looked like a hand-sized wooden badge with a skull carved in the center with four lines connecting to it. Kneeling down, his curiosity took over, and he stretched out his hand.

As he reached for it, he noticed the sound in the area become deathly silent, as time itself had stopped. There was no rustling in the trees, no water beating against the rocks, no animals of the night sounding their cries. As his fingers went into the waters, he felt his heart racing for some unknown reason. This felt...familiar. It was almost like he'd remembered an old friend or found an item he thought he had lost.

His fingers were almost touching the badge, about to close around it, when he heard a whisper in his mind say, **Awaken me...**

The very moment his hand gripped the badge, everything went black.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sakura exited the house, growing a little concerned for her teammate. Ever since he had stormed out of the house ten minutes ago, her heart began aching, almost screaming at her to look for Naruto, but she couldn't understand why. She didn't love Naruto; in fact, she only tolerated him at the best of times, while others, she just kind of wished he'd go away and maybe not even come back. It was just so annoying, what with him always asking her for dates when she clearly wasn't interested, always complimenting her when all he was doing was distracting her from Sasuke! It wasn't right! She belonged to Sasuke! Naruto-Baka didn't _deserve_ her! In fact, if he died, she would be so much better off!

Her heart clenched in pain at the thought, and her eyes widened a little before her head started to pound slightly. She took a few calming breaths and rubbed her temples.

 _What is wrong with me? Why did I think that? I wouldn't ever want Naruto to die, even if he does get a little annoying at times._ She let out a sigh. _I think the stress of everything is getting to me. I need to find Naruto._

Taking a few steps away from the porch, she looked around, hoping that the blond hadn't wandered far. Looking up, she smiled when she saw the full moon shining in the night. It felt comforting to her for some strange reason, like some memory she'd forgotten as a child wanted to bubble to the surface. It actually made her think of the snow and ice in winter - oddly enough her favorite season, despite the fact that her full name basically meant "spring field of cherry blossoms." She didn't know why, but the way the moon would reflect off of the snow just always felt so... _beautiful_...

Suddenly, a powerful gust of wind blew violently from the forest, the force so strong it nearly sent her flying back into the side of the house. Covering her face by holding her arms in front of her, she tried to look where the wind was coming from, but she couldn't see anything through the trees. Her eyes soon widened in absolute shock and terror, though, as she watched a large beam of what resembles black and crimson flames shoot into the sky.

Her ears then started to pick up a sound. A scream so deafening, it echoed everywhere, and panic set into her as she began to recognize the voice. _Naruto!_

Without even a second thought, she ran into the forest at full speed. _Is Naruto hurt? Was he attacked? Is he burning in those eerie flames? Please, Kami! I didn't mean it when I talked about him dying! I'm sorry! I'M SORRY!_

Her heart clenched at that thought, forcing her to move faster and dodge through the trees. The blonde's scream became louder and louder, and her clenching heart turned into a knot in her stomach. The wind grew even fiercer as she landed near a clearing, and she covered her gaping mouth as tears start forming from her eyes in horror at what she saw.

There, by the river, her emerald eyes witnessed Naruto literally floating slightly in the air within the epicenter of the black and crimson flames, the upper part of his clothes burning away. Sakura could feel the sheer intensity of the flames as she heard the blond screaming out in pain as loud as he could. She ducked as some of the flames nearly hit her, not seeing a small portion of it vanishing into her arm.

"NARUTO!" she screamed out as loud as she can muster, hoping that he could hear her through the wind.

As if a switch had been hit, the black flames almost instantly entered his body and died down along with the wind. As it vanished, his body started to fall, but before it hit the ground, Sakura suddenly found the strength to race to him, catching him in time. His body collapsed against hers, nearly knocking the two of them over as she fell to her knees. She gently lowered the boy to the ground and rested Naruto's head onto her lap before she gave him a look-over. The blond was unconscious with some burns here and there on his exposed chest and arms. Suddenly feeling so useless, she quivered a little as she felt more tears spring to her eyes while she wondered what to do.

 _Was it a trap? He's burnt all over Oh Kami-Sama I am so sorry…_ "Naruto," she whispered crying softly, her tears landing on the blond's face. "Please wake up Naruto… Please…"

Slowly, tiredly, Naruto's eyes opened and refocused a little to see Sakura looking down at him in tears. A weak foxy grin appeared on his lips.

"He...accepted me..." Naruto said in a raspy exhausted tone.

Confused, the girl tilted her head as she rested a gentle hand onto his cheek lightly rubbing his whisker marks. "Who accepted you?"

"Zan...get...su..."

Muttering those last words, he fell back into unconsciousness again. Panicking, Sakura screamed out, "NARUTO!"

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

 _What was that?_

Going on one of her nightly hobbies, Haku froze while looking for barriers. She dropped her small weave basket as her eye went wide seeing pure black flames shooting upwards into the heavens. She too heard the pained scream come from the epicenter of those demonic flames. She moved through the trees and stopped on a large branch the same time as pink haired Kunoichi seeing the very same blond from Konoha engulfed by the hellish fire, the upper part of his clothes being burned off.

"NARUTO!"

She heard the rosette Kunoichi scream out the blond's name. Then she watched with an almost morbid fascination as the black flames receded and actually entered Naruto's body. Gravity took over as the blond began to fall and the rosette Kunoichi caught him just in time.

 _What just happened? What was it she had just witnessed? But a strange small part of her felt concern for her enemy; was the boy alright?_ For whatever the reason that wrenched at heart the most.

"He… Accepted me…"

"Who accepted you?"

"Zan…get…su…" the blond went unconscious.

"NARUTO!"

The brunette narrowed her eyes _;_ _Zangetsu? What did he mean by accepted him?_

Sensing someone approaching the area Haku silently Shunshins from the scene. One way or another she will figure out what has happened.

XxX ~ xx ~ XxX

Sitting at his beautiful but plain redwood desk a man wearing a wide straw hat and a pink flower embroidered hoari over a white one, he rests his chin on his palm with his elbow on the desk. His good eye was close while the other was covered by a black eyepatch.

 _Honestly, how did old man Yama stay sane doing all this paperwork…_ _? I need to promote Nanao-Chan into the Squad one._

His head soon shot up as his single eye widens. For a moment he remains frozen till he tips his hat leaning back into his chair as a warm smile crossing his lips.

"Least that's one less thing to worry about. But best to play this safe, still glad your back… **Zangetsu** …"


	2. Chapter 2 Zanpaktou

**i don't own naruto or bleach**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Zanpaktou**

Sasuke rushed out of the house along with Tazuna, the sudden gales causing them to wonder if they had fallen under attack again, but both were speechless upon seeing the pillar of black flames shooting up into the heavens. Frowning when he realized that neither of his teammates was anywhere nearby, the Uchiha heir charged towards the direction of the flames.

"Are you insane, gaki?! You don't have any idea what's out there!" the old drunker yelled.

Hearing but ignoring the bridge builder, Sasuke charged on, his priority to investigate what the hell was going on.

And to make sure his team is safe from any threats, he guessed. Probably wouldn't look all that good on him if they died during their first big mission.

Dashing through the trees and fighting the slowly dying wind, the Uchiha heir heard soft crying not far ahead, and watched as the flames vanished back towards the earth. Leaping out and landing at a waterfall clearing, kunai at the ready, he saw Sakura with Naruto's unconscious head on her lap. He did a double take at the blond, his teammate littered with burn marks and his coat gone. The rosette cried softly as she lifted her head to see Sasuke with a confused yet terrified expression.

Approaching the two, he glanced around to make sure they were safe for the moment before turning back to the girl and asking, "What happened here, Sakura?"

She was silent for a minute as she gathered herself but was still shaky as she began talking. "I came outside the house because I was a little worried about Naruto and wanted to look for him. But as soon as I stepped off the porch, a massive column of black and crimson fire shot up into the sky. The winds were blowing so harshly, they almost knocked me over."

Sasuke took in what she just said and let her continue. "Then... I heard the most frightening scream ever start coming from the trees, and it didn't take long for me to recognize it as Naruto. Running while fighting the wind current, I found him here in the center of those flames. He sounded like he was in so much pain... I screamed out at him, hoping he would wake up, and the flames all of sudden vanished into him."

"The flames...went _inside_ of Naruto." the raven haired boy said slowly with a raised eyebrow.

Sakura nodded, not realizing how odd it sounded. "He was floating in the air while those flames were burning. When they vanished, he began falling to the ground, so I caught him. He was unconscious for a second before waking up a little."

"Did he say anything? Possibly an explanation about what happened? Maybe another enemy attack?" the Uchiha asked, growing more curious.

"The only thing he said was that someone named Zangetsu had accepted him. He went unconscious again before I could ask him who that was." Sakura finished as she looked back down at the blond with a concerned expression. Something kept nagging her in the back of her head, and she was having a hard time placing what that feeling was.

Again, Sasuke raised an eyebrow. _W_ _ho the hell is Zangestu? And those flames felt more like energy,_ _but they didn't possess the same feeling as Chakra. What the hell is going on?_

XxX xx XxX

Groaning, Naruto slowly stirred as he opened his eyes. Though they were unfocused at first while he sat up, they soon widened as everything became more and more clear. He found himself sitting in vast field of gray sand with several dead trees spotted here and there across the horizon. Looking up, he saw a large white crescent moon alone in the sky. Slowly getting to his feet, he turned his head to see a massive square building with a dome top, and four pillars at each corner.

He looked down to check himself over and noticed the upper half of his jumpsuit is gone, leaving the chain mesh shirt he always wore underneath his jacket. Looking back at the gigantic structure, questions ran rapidly through his mind, but the largest of them all was, "Where the hell am I?"

"Hueco Mundo or least a version of it formed within your mind," a rough deep voice spoke from behind him.

Swiftly turning to look at the speaker, Naruto saw the man that appeared as his reflection in the river. Thanks to that badge he had picked out of the water, he was now able to put a name to the face.

"Zangetsu," Naruto said with a grin.

The man nodded, though he remained expressionless, his overcoat and hair flowing in some sort of nonexistent wind. He merely continued on. "This is your mind-scape, a mental representation of your subconscious."

"Not exactly what I pictured the inside of my head to be like. My life may be pretty bad, but this place is almost downright depressing."

"When my reiryoku merged with your own as well as your Chakra, the inside of your mind changed in order to compensate and allow you to adjust. What you see before you is a recreation of memory – a place that is familiar to me. It was also affected by the being sealed inside you."

"The Kyuubi no Yoko," the blond said solemnly.

Zangetsu looked up at the building ahead and pointed towards it. "He now resides inside there and cannot leave. _That_ is his new cage. Without him inside of you, chances would be certain that all you would see here is the desert."

Naruto listened as he gazed at the massive structure. In all honesty, he did not know how to feel about being the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. While it finally explained greatly why the villagers hated and resented him, it did not mean The Kyuubi wanted to be in this situation either. But he still wished he never figured out why the Yondaime choose him to be the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

"How could you choose another's child if not your own son," Naruto whispers.

Zangetsu studied his new master's facial expression; "do you hate him?"

There was nothing but silence that stretched on like the desert beneath their feet. The blond looks to the white moon above; "I want to break his jaw. He forced me to become the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki so I could protect the village he believed would treat me as their hero. His blind faith in the villagers thinking they would whole-heartedly see that I was the hero. My Tou-san was a pure idealists, I'm not, and while I want to break some of his bones. No, I don't hate my father."

The old spirit nods; "I am glad to hear that. Hate can be a cancer much like vengeance, if one allows it to fester. It will consume and corrupt your very soul."

And becoming like Sasuke was the blond refused to ever follow. While he does not hate Minato for what he did, does not mean he has to like for long while. He will forgive him, sometime down the road.

Then a word Zangetsu said popped in his head, and he turned back to the man.

"You said something about reiryoku. What is that?"

"Spiritual energy. It is power that flows from your very soul, similar to chakra but separated from it. While chakra is a combination of both spiritual and physical energies, reiryoku is purely the essence of your soul, which, with the aid of a Zanpaktou, can be harnessed and used together to achieve greater power. Yet, like chakra, it can grow with the person as they age and train as well as replenish itself over time whenever it is used. So if one can master it with training, that person has the potential to become even stronger than they could ever dream of, especially when combined with the use of reiatsu – or spiritual pressure, which serve to intimidate or even paralyze an opponent with pure force."

"Zanpaktou - that's what you said you are, right?"

"Yes. We are spirit weapons that bond with those who possess large enough amounts of reiryoku to do so. With this, both create a symbiotic unit with the one another, growing with power together and forming a bond similar to that of friendship or even family - depending upon the person."

Nodding in understanding, the two went silent at they looked at the building ahead. Naruto knew he had to face what was inside. He had to meet the Kyuubi eventually, and right now was the best time to do so. In fact, this was the only time to do so, since he knew he needed help and the Fox was the only other one who could do so.

Then, of course, there was also...that, and he heaved out a sigh as he said, "I can't hide myself anymore, can I?"

"No. That false persona of you was once useful to you in order to protect yourself in the past, but it has now become more of a weakness than strength. It is time the world saw the real you," Zangetsu commented.

Naruto had realized that for a while now, but he found the only way people ever even took notice of him was when he acted like an idiot. While he does really like pulling pranks on people, and truly has strong feelings for Sakura, he knew that acting ignorant was not the way he should go about it. But since people and his former teachers at the academy gave him overly hard tests which only a Jounin could answer, weapons with added weights for the target ranges, along with the sneers behind his back, it was hard to show them the true him – or at least be able to do so without every person in the village suddenly calling for his blood. He had always felt it best to be a fool than to show he was actually as smart as Shikamaru - minus the laziness, of course.

As the boy and spirit walked towards the dome building, the blond started to evaluate his current skill set.

His Taijutsu was an absolute joke. Since he was never properly taught, he was more akin to a drunken brawler. Granted, he always was able to improvise to overcome his opponents' ways of fighting, but without any form of base to start off, it was basically him flailing his arms about and hoping that he would hit something. This could get him or his teammates killed, and the thought of Sakura dead or, worse, captured and even raped made him sick inside, despite her derision and annoyance towards him. He had to become a better fighter. Maybe Kakashi-Sensei has a few Taijutsu scrolls on him?

That or maybe Zangestu knows a form of Hand to hand combat. He would have to ask later.

Then there is his Ninjutsu. While he was good at some of the academy techniques, Kage Bunshin was his only trump card, since it was the only jutsu that hardly needed any real chakra control to make it work flawlessly. _THAT_ , of course, needed fixing too, but at least he was aware of the bonus of the Kage Bunshins, allowing him a way to speed up his training.

And finally, regarding Genjutsu...well, the less said of that particular skill, the better.

He needed a major overhaul in all his skills. He even felt a strange calling for Fūinjutsu - for whatever the reason – and when Zangetsu told him that his form in the real world was a sword, he would also have to add Kenjutsu in his article of _'Get your damn shit together'_.

XxX xx XxX

Entering the monolithic structure, their footsteps echoed through the hallway. Naruto noticed like the outside, the inside of the building is pure white. It didn't quite look like marble, though it did feel smooth when he touched one of the walls so it was possible he was just imagining things. While they roamed the inner halls, Zangetsu starts his explanations again. "This place is solely within your mind, meaning that there are only the three of us existing here, but the real Hueco Mundo could be a rather terrifying place for those who were not prepared. The beings that resided there were called Hollows, masked creatures that could be as small as a man or larger than any animal you have ever seen. They were born when a soul lost all of its humanity and transformed, giving it an obsessive desire to devour other souls - and those were just the regular ones. There are also three entire class of Hollow above the regular cannon fodder, and facing even the lowest of the three – the Gillian – while alone was considered to be pure suicide unless you had the strength to back it up."

A chill went down the blonde's spine as he heard this. The fact they were once human souls was beyond frightening, and it made Naruto hope that these creatures never found a way onto this world.

Or, worse, that he never had to fight anyone he knew who had turned into one.

"Are there any Hollows in the Elemental Nations?"

"I do not know the answer Naruto. But I surmise there are some here like there were where I am from. It will be interesting to see them fight against Chakra-based attacks…"

"Could Chakra-based attacks work on Hollows," the blond asks curiously.

Zangetsu was quiet for a moment; "They could damage a Hollow. As to killing one, I am uncertain till we see a _Ninjutsu_ skill in use against one."

Finally after what felt like hours, Zangetsu and Naruto stopped at the entrance of massive rectangular room with multiple pillars littered everywhere. Both could feel an extremely intense malice that was so thick it made Naruto feels like he was suffocating.

"Took your sweet time getting here, though I have to admit this beats the sewer and cramped cell I was in," A deep, ancient voice echoed throughout the room.

Naruto steeled himself, his eyes shifting around the shadowed edges. "Where are you, Kyuubi?"

A snort and then, "Where I choose to be. Least in this place I can move around. I see you brought along my new roommate."

Zangetsu said nothing. He knew this was conversation meant for Naruto and the Fox, though he would still defend his new master if the King of the Bijuu tried to harm him.

"Can we at least see you? Talking to a disembodied voice doesn't offer much for a first conversation to build trust."

At the mention of the word 'trust', he heard a growl. "And why exactly should I trust a little whelp like you Ningen?"

"Because I would rather want to understand you than be at odds with you. Neither one of us wanted to be in this place, but we can make this work if we can come to some sort of understanding."

For the first time in ages, the Kyuubi was, for once, speechless. Here was one human - a child, no less - actually wanting to understand rather than just paint him with the same brush that had been applied to him all these years. Feeling no hint of deception, the fox sighed. He soon appeared not far from Naruto and Zangetsu and sat onto his haunches, staring down sternly at them both, his slitted crimson eyes glowing while his nine tails swayed about behind him.

"Thank you..."

"Save your thanks, brat. You'll earn my trust when I feel like it."

"Do we really have to be at odds?"

"You humans have seen my kind as nothing more than weapons. Pawns for your schemes of war and conquest against your fellow human. Always trying to prove one side is stronger than the other, and my kin is used as equalizers. Why should I show courtesy when none has ever been given in return?"

"Because I don't see you as a weapon. And what better way to prove that than by helping each other instead of fighting?"

The fox raised an eyebrow at the peculiar young man. This had to be the oddest human he had ever met before. Not only did he not view the Bijuu as weapons like most, but he actually wanted friendship? The very thought made him mentally cringe. But seeing this boy before him, with no ounce of deceit in words or eyes, caused the Bijuu King to finally smirk non-maliciously.

"You're naïve, but you at least have the guts to even ask such a request to me. I accept, BUT! I will still remind you who you are dealing with. I am the Kyuubi no Yoko and I do not offer my trust lightly to anyone..."

Naruto smiles as he bows his head; "Thank you."

"Whatever, Kit. Just get out of here."

Nodding with a grin on his face, the blond Jinchuuriki and Zanpaktou left. As the fox watched them go, the Kyuubi had many thoughts he had to consider but would silently admit he was impressed that the boy was able to find and be accepted by a Zanpaktou. So maybe there was some small merit in trying to aid his container rather than harm him.

So just maybe...

 _Mito would have fainted in seeing how well this conversation went. You saw my kind as mere weapons since you and Hashirama approved my beloved and the rest of our kin to be used for your talks of peace in the growing of the villages. Kushina was slightly better being she actually spoke to me from time to time. We shall see what just type of person you are Naruto Uzumaki…_

XxX xx XxX

Outside the monolith, the duo stopped a few feet away from the entrance. "Before you return to the outside, I must tell you something. Since my reiryoku entered your body and awakened your own, I have healed the damage done by the lack of proper nutrition to your body."

"What do you mean?"

"Your muscle structure, height, and several other details are now being properly healed. You will see when you awaken."

Naruto smiled warmly; "Thank you Zangetsu."

"No... Thank you, Naruto. If you had not found that badge, I would still be stuck in that river."

Nodding, he was about to leave when one last thing hit him. "How do I call your sword form?"

"Call out my name, and I will appear in your hand. Due to the fox's chakra, I will be able to materialize in the outside world. So when you have need of me, I will come."

The blond was literally beaming. Perhaps now with Zangetsu, he could finally have the chance to actually make something of himself.

"Got to go. Thanks, Zangetsu-Jiji," Naruto said as he vanished in front of him.

The sword spirit raised an eyebrow at the spot where the blond disappeared before he allowed a small smile to creep up onto his face. Shockingly enough, he let out a small chuckle. "Old man, huh? In a way, he is a lot like him..."

" _He is and interesting I will say. Wonder how he will react when he can wield me as well._ "

The authoritive feminine voice being both soft and strong finally speaking after their rest in the badge. "You could have showed yourself?"

" _I want Naruto to learn and get used to wielding one of us before gaining the use of the secondary blade. He must master his and our own Reiryoku before even considering becoming a dual master of The Zangetsu._ "

"As you wish… _Zangetsu_."

" _That is your name as well now. We are two aspects of the same coin. When we merged and freed me from that filthy_ creature's _devices, you became a Zanpaktou thus balancing the power output evenly. Hold your head high, for you are_ **Zangetsu** _…_ "

Nodding the old spirit looks upward into the moonlight sky. "Have faith in us Naruto. And together we will **burn away the** **darkness** **."**


	3. Chapter 3 True Self

**i dont own naruto or bleach**

 **Chapter 3**

 **True Self**

The morning sun shines through the window, the light hits Kakashi's face. Groaning he lazily opens his eye. His vision clear a he sees a beautiful woman with raven black hair with two bangs framing her face looking at him. For a minute the two adults were silent, but in Kakashi's mind, there was a little Chibi version of him dancing around and waving fans that had " _pervert_ " written on them.

 _I've died and gone to Icha Icha Heaven!_

"Glad to see you're at least awake. However, your student is still out," she remarked with concern as she pointed.

The word " _student_ " knocked him from his daydreams, causing him to realize that, no; he was not dead and therefore could not sleep with the raven-haired beauty before him. Grumbling a little under his breath about the unfairness of it all, he asked, "One of my students?"

The copy ninja sat up and looked to his right. His eye widened at the sight before him. _Naruto?_

If not for the whisker marks on his cheeks, he possibly would not have been able to tell who the young man was. His sun-kissed spiky blond hair was now longer and more refined, with two blade-like bangs that framed his face while one trailed down the center and partially covered his left eye. His face was more oval now with zero baby fat, making him looks a little older than he was. In fact, if not for the new hair and the whisker marks, he would look like the Yondaime's identical twin.

Off to the side, Kakashi saw what remained of Naruto's jumpsuit, which in all honesty could not fit him now. Now the boy was wearing a black muscle shirt and gray sweats, and the Jounin noticed quite a few differences within his unpredictable student.

For one thing, his height. He was easily taller than every member of his graduation class now and had more muscles on his visible arms, giving him a lean and much healthier build. At first glance, you could say he might have passed for being fifteen instead of twelve.

Then there was the second surprise for Kakashi, namely a certain rosette who was currently using Naruto's chest as a pillow. Lifting up the left side of his hitai-ate, he revealed his Sharingan to make certain this was not a Genjutsu. However, what he saw nearly made him jump from the bed. Black and crimson flames completely engulfed Naruto and Sakura's bodies. If not for the Sharingan, he would have thought they were on fire with Amaterasu, but this was something else completely.

"Is there something wrong?"

The woman's voice brought him back to reality. Lowering his Hitai-ate, he give the woman one of his customary eye-smiles. "They're fine. I was just checking on their chakra networks, just to make sure that they weren't too exhausted," he lied convincingly.

Raising an eyebrow for a second, the woman soon smiled and left the room after telling him she would be down in the kitchen if he needed her. He bowed his head respectfully to her before asking, "Sorry, miss, I didn't get your name?"

Stopping at the door, she turned and smiled warmly. "My name is Tsunami, Thank you so much for bringing my father back home." With that, she left to continue her housework.

Eye-smiling at the raven beauty, he soon got back into a more serious mode as he began looking over Naruto again with his Sharingan. He racked his brain about what the hell these black flames were, but no depth of his expertise could tell him what was going on. Like he had thought earlier, it was similar to Amaterasu; but if that had been the case, then the Genin would have been ash right now.

Hearing a groan, he snapped out of his musings and noticed Naruto lazily opening his eyes.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," Kakashi said, catching the blonde's attention.

Turning his head, his cerulean eyes spotted his sensei sitting up on his bed, looking at him with his Sharingan eye.

"Morning sensei. You feel better?" Naruto asked in a calm, relaxed tone.

Now, Kakashi was mentally freaking out. The normal response should have been a loud uproar, but what the hell was this?! Even the atmosphere about Naruto was calm, even downright soothing. Shaking his head, he lowered his hitai-ate; now looking perplexed at the blond with his normal eye.

"I should be asking that. Did I miss something while I was out? Oh, and you might want to look down before you sit up," Kakashi said as he pointed at Naruto's chest, an eye-smile forming again on his face.

Raising an eyebrow, he gazed down his chest, and his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets, his cheeks becoming tomato red. Not in his wildest dreams did he ever think he'd see Sakura not only sleeping, but snuggling comfortably on his chest. He nearly flew from the floor, but he did not want to wake the rosette for fear of causing her to go on a rampage. Hearing a perverted giggle, he looked back dryly at his sensei.

"Enjoying the show?"

Kakashi's eye smile just became more pronounced as he gave thumbs up. "You got your girl. You work fast Naruto."

"While unconscious? Is that a record?" Kakashi shrugged, and Naruto sighed. "You do know Sakura-Chan is going to kill me right?"

His sensei waved his hand in non-chalance. "Ma, I think she will be alright. With her new eye candy, she might just decide to stalk you instead of Sasuke more often."

Naruto felt a shiver go down his spine. "Did you have to say like that, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Would you rather see her mating with the Uchiha? Personally, despite her being a weakling, I think she can do better than being a mere baby making machine," The Kyuubi chimes in.

The mental image of what Kyuubi mentioned only made the boy mentally cringe. _Now I am scarred for life. Thank you, Kyuubi._

He heard the fox snort. "And pray tell what exactly her redeeming qualities are? She claims to be a Kunoichi but acts like a complete airhead around that wretched Uchiha."

 _There is more to her than you realize Kyuubi,_ Zangetsu finally said.

The Zanpaktou's words got both of their attentions, both wondering just what the cryptic spirit was talking about. Meanwhile, Kakashi watched on as Naruto's eyes seem distant.

 _What do you mean Zangetsu-Jiji?_

"Yes enlighten us _'Roommate'_. What 'I' am not seeing?"

 _Emotions are similar to a mirror. They show many things. But can also bring about illusions to others, and to themselves._

Naruto's eyes widened, while the fox's narrowed. If what he was saying was right, then...

"-ruto! Naruto!" Kakashi voice finally, finally cut through his thoughts and reached the Genin's ears.

Shaking his head, he noticed the silver-haired Jounin kneeling down beside him, eyeing him with concern.

"Sorry, did you say something?"

A sweat drop fell down the back of Kakashi's head. _That's my line..._

XxX Konoha XxX

At a training ground back in Konoha, a green clad Jounin with a bowl haircut felt a tremor in his rival senses and looked up to the sky, raising his fist as he screamed to the heavens. "DAMN YOU KAKASHI! DAMN YOU AND YOUR HIP ATTITUDE!"

Meanwhile, two of his Genin students had identical sweat-drops run down the backs of their heads as they watched the crazy man scream more nonsense than usual, while the third looked at his sensei with a...disturbing amount of admiration in his eyes.

XxX Gatou's Hideout XxX

"Failed! So this is all one of the Kiri Swordsman of Kirigakure can do?"

Resting on his bed to allow the paralysis to wear off Zabuza barely listens to small midget fuming in front of him. On either side of the bed is Gozu and Meiru with Haku standing front of Gatou and his henchmen who looked spooked by her frozen icy stare at all three of them.

"If it was not bad enough they brought Kakashi Hatake from Konoha. So how do suppose we deal with him Mr. Swordsman," Gatou ask arrogantly.

The business man and two thugs are frozen stiff as a wave of killer intent hits them from Zabuza.

"I said I would kill the bridge builder, and I keep my word! Hatake is just a bonus to the deal. Your plans will be carried out."

Gatou tapped his cane as he walked up beside Haku who mentally cringed being near the man. "I'll hold you to the Zabuza, but in the meantime," his voice trailed off as he looked the young woman beside him. "Think I'll use her body for insurance."

Before Zabuza could yell at the man whose hand was reaching for Haku's arm she grabbed his wrist. Everyone could hear the bones creaking as ice began for form on Gatou's hand and wrist.

"Never try to touch me again, and this is punishment for doubting us," Haku's voice colder than ice.

The midget roared in pain as his wrist was snapped in two, the demon brothers mentally chuckle along with Zabuza at the small man wailing about like some turtle on the ground. The business man's thugs get their boss off the ground as they quickly leave the room.

Haku sighs; "I am staying a virgin till I marry thank you very much."

She watches dryly seeing her master try to move his fingers. He ran on adrenaline getting back to the base but it took Haku and the brothers to get him back into his room once it wore off.

"Of course that is if Zabuza lets anyone near you Haku-Chan," Gozu chuckles. "They best obey his rules or get his head and balls chopped off," Meiru finishes.

"If you two idiots can talk you can train, make up for that humiliation you both received by Hatake and his little Genin brats," Zabuza growls out.

"Gozu, you train yourself for the Uchiha. Meiru, since we really don't know what that rosette Kunoichi can do be ready for anything. I will train for the blond. We have one week," Haku gave the orders.

The two brothers bowed and shunshined from where they stood. Zabuza lifted an eyebrow, since he woke up Haku has been focused solely on the blond runt. She has not said why but it is enough to know she has her full attention on that loud mouth brat.

"You're tense Haku, what it is about that boy that has your attention," Zabuza asks.

"I am going to give watch over Nami while training. I want to keep an eye on that boy."

"You did not fall for him did you?"

Haku gave a dry look at her master's rare sense of humor. "Fine, just cover your tracks."

"I always do Zabuza-Sama," Haku bows and Shunshins.

XxX Sasuke XxX

Back at Nami, Sasuke was sitting on the roof of Tazuna's house. In his hand, he was looking at the two pieces of the now broken wooden badge that had been in Naruto's hand the night before. Putting the two back together to form one piece, he noticed the weird skull engraving on its front.

"What the hell is this thing?" he thought out loud.

Ever since they got back from bringing an unconscious Naruto into the house, the Uchiha heir had racked his brain about what in the name of Kami was going on. While the others slept, he watched the dobe change before his eyes. His height, hair, appearance, even his damn muscle structure had changed. He knew those flames or energy or whatever the hell it was did this to Naruto. _And it somehow all came from this?_

 _Was there a seal on it? No, if there was, there would be writing somewhere, but I can't find a thing. I still have no clue about who or even what this_ 'Zangetsu' _is, but Sakura said those flames went inside the dobe. It has to be energy, but it wasn't chakra. Guess I'll just have to wait till Naruto wakes up for answers._

Standing up, his eyes narrowed as he started to canvas the area again. _Because if I am right, that had to be the rawest form of power I have ever seen. So why they hell did the dobe get it? It would just be wasted on him, he's just a clan-less nobody who has no right for any power. Especially since I need all the power I can get to kill Itachi…_

 _The dobe doesn't deserve a damn thing…_

XxX xx XxX

Inside, a pink hair Kunoichi was beginning to stir, but a part of her just felt like staying where she was. She felt rather relaxed, warm, and, oddly, very safe, and she felt like she was cuddling the most wonderful teddy bear she had ever held. Still, the reasoning side of her was telling for her to wake up, and she knew that side of her mind always won in the end when it came to getting out of bed. With a soft groan, she lifted her head, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. But when she looked up, her cheeks soon turn a shade more pink than her hair as she stared at this... _wonderful_ specimen of a man that she was currently latched onto.

"Yo," two voices said in unison. One belonged to her sensei - who was sitting at the end of the bed and eye-smiling while giving her the thumbs up? - While the other was her unofficial pillow, who looked extremely terrified. The rosette mentally noted this had to be the cutest guy she had ever seen in her life. The way his bangs covered the left side of face, the lean well-built muscle tone, those cerulean eyes... CERULEAN EYES!? She then noticed the whisker marks adorn on the boy's cheeks. Her emerald eyes went wide as saucers yet still blushing furiously.

 _I JUST THOUGHT NARUTO WAS CUTER THAN SASUKE!_

At the same time the blond in question was expect three things to happen. _'A: Sakura's fist, B: His face, C: Him flying into the wall behind them.'_ To his, and maybe even Kami herself surprise, she just continued to stare at him in disbelief. This in this instant both men were looking at one another with shocked expressions. Looking back they see Sakura who looks like was catatonic at the moment.

"Uh... Sakura-Chan?"

Naruto's voice breaking the girl out of stupor she sits up shaking her head. Trying and failing to regain composure, which again outright surprises the two men in the room. Finally sitting up himself Naruto slightly fidgets from his crushes gaze. Then he notices he is actually looking down at her while she is looking up.

"Naruto," she finally asks.

"Last I checked, something wrong Sakura-Chan," he responds in a calm tone.

Moving her hands quickly to her kunai holster, she pulls out a small compact and opens it. She raises it up so Naruto can see his face. Now it was the blonde's turn with his eyes becoming like saucers. Like Zangetsu said, he would look different. But DAMN, he did not think _THIS_ much!

Scratching the side of cheek he laughs nervously; "Zangetsu-Jiji said I will look like I should have."

That name got Sakura back to reality, dropping her compact she looks at him with a gaze between wanting answers and worried? Another first...

"Naruto you said that name before you passed out last night. Who is Zangetsu?"

Now Kakashi was curious. And maybe he would finally know what happened to his blond student.

"Guess this is a good a time as any... Teme stop hiding on the roof and get down here."

Jumping through the window Sasuke scowled while his eyes were wide. The Uchiha was actually surprised that Naruto knew he was sitting near the window outside. Sitting beside Kakashi the trio wait silently, with to Naruto's surprise Sakura full attention is on him instead of the teme.

XxX xx XxX

After a half-hour explanation, the gazes from his teammates and sensei were mixed. The rosette, in wonder (and a little bit of lust as she trailed her green eyes down his muscles and began wondering what it would feel like to have him hold her again). The teme, half doubtful. The look on his sensei's face, though, was slightly hard to place, like the man was deep in thought yet at the same time was thinking nothing.

"So Zangetsu is a spirit weapon," Kakashi asked, rubbing his chin.

"A _sentient_ spirit weapon. He is called a Zanpaktou."

"And those flames were actually this reiryoku thing," Sakura questioned.

Naruto grinned at her slightly and inclined his head towards her, which caused her cheeks to turn red as those images in her mind started to get a little more...forceful. "Yep. And the reason why I look the way I do now is because Zangetsu-Jiji repaired a lot of damage from the lack of proper nutrition in my body."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "Since when have you started to use big words, dobe?"

Naruto dryly looks at him with narrowed eyes. "Since I stopped 'pretending' to be an idiot."

The rosette was confused as she tilted her head. Loud, boisterous, goofy Naruto was just pretend? "You mean that was all just an act?"

Naruto looks back at her solemnly; "The orange? The dumb intelligence? The loudmouth, brash, eager-to-please, devil-may-care, idiot personality? Yep, all of it was faked so that I could hide myself within plain sight. As a certain former Anbu captain might recall," he said, looking right at Kakashi who looks shocked.

"You actually remember that?"

"Never forgot, Inu-Niisan," Naruto replied as he smiled warmly. "As well as the other few Anbu that looked out for me. Neko-Kaa-chan especially."

"Your mom is alive," Sakura almost yelled out.

The blond shook his head sadly; "No, but since I could remember a female Anbu with a cat mask and long flowing purple hair as always been by my side. Naturally being Anbu she could not stay all the time with black opt missions. But she taught me everything I know." _Especially since most if the academy tried to sabotage my learning, save Iruka-Sensei._

Sakura looked down sadly; why did she hope Naruto was not completely alone? Perhaps seeing that sad fake smile she saw at times got to more than admitted. It would have been nice to know her teammate was not alone.

However Sasuke kept on track. "Wait, you knew Kakashi before we became a team?" Sasuke asked.

"That's right. I met blonde here when he was about five or was it four," Naruto mouthed five. "Five. He was always a clever one. I wondered how long you would play the idiot, Otouto."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he just gave kind of a haphazard shrug.

"So what is real then, Naruto?" Sakura chimed in, her head tilting curiously to the side.

"For one I tested my I.Q. seriously with Jiji. However the way I learn is through kinetic activities. Jiji and Neko-Kaa-chan both put me through the gates of hell getting me where I am now."

Both Sakura and Sasuke looked outright stunned while Kakashi eye-smiled; _and I watched everything the Sandaime-Sama, Naruto's Anbu detail put him through his paces. It was amazing how well he took things once finding how he learned like Kushina-Sama. But if it wasn't for those damn hypocritical villagers, some of the council, and few short sighted Ninja, Naruto would never have made that alter ego of the idiot who knew next to nothing. Rotten bastards…_

"Plus I have two dreams."

"Which are," Sakura asks regaining herself.

"Becoming Hokage is one, of course. The other... I want a family of my own."

Kakashi lowered his eyes sadly, while Sakura widened hers as the last statement hit her. She had forgotten that Naruto had lost his own parents when he was little, so what was the one thing an orphan would want more? A small pang of guilt hit the rosette as memories started to trickle into her head. The times she saw him at the park alone. The times she noticed that his smiles were actually forced. Then she remembered all the times she was mean to him, which struck at her heart even more...

 _He's always been alone all his life. Why should I be surprised he would want that more than anything? Why... Why didn't I try to...?_

"Otouto, can we see Zangetsu?"

Kakashi's voice brought Sakura out of her thoughts as she looked at the blond with slight excitement. While the energy had terrified her, it must not have been malevolent if it was helping Naruto by turning him into this...hot...sexy...stud before her. Her mind took off again, and she suddenly had to avert its current course out of fear of her nose bleeding. She was shocked with herself that she would think this about _Naruto_ of all people, but she found that the more she looked at him, the more she wanted him to grab her by the arms, throw her onto the bed, and begin to-

Her face started to turn red again as she screamed into her mind, _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME?! THE NEXT THING I KNOW, I'M GOING TO START HUMPING HIS LEG AND ACT LIKE A DOG IN HEAT!_

What was disturbing to her was that some part of her mind must have found that idea appealing, as she began to imagine herself wearing a pink collar with fake dog ears and a tail, her tail wagging in obvious delight as she watched her "master" Naruto move closer to her on the bed-

Sakura bit her bottom lip to stop herself from screaming in frustration with herself, her face slowly becoming like a tomato. _Stop! Bad Sakura! Stop thinking about your sexy teammate doing naughty things to you!_

Meanwhile the Kyuubi just snorted listening in on Sakura's thoughts.

Nodding to his surrogate brother (and wondering what was wrong with his favorite rosette), Naruto closed his eyes. Everyone's held their breath as the trio nearly jumped out of their clothes. Appearing behind the blond was a seven foot tall Zanpaktou spirit in an overcoat seemed to move in a non-existent breeze in the room, the older man's face neutral as he appeared.

Zangetsu eyed them all slowly with a critical gaze. Looking at Kakashi, he gave a small nod of approval. The silver-haired Jounin nodded dumbly back, still in shock at the sight of the man just appearing out of thin air. His eyes soon shifted and narrowed at Sasuke. Though the boy couldn't see the spirit's eyes under the shades, he could feel the most intense stare from him, while Zangetsu himself felt the darkness and hate inside the Uchiha heir. He remained quiet, though. It really wasn't his place to say anything about it – at least for the moment.

His eyes finally came to Sakura, who made a small 'eep'-ing sound as her eyes locked with his own. He was imposing by every meaning of the word, and she could feel like his eyes were analyzing everything he saw. Swallowing her courage (and praying that he couldn't read her previous thoughts), she nervously stood and bowed to the spirit. It was an action that secretly impressed Zangetsu, but his face betrayed nothing.

"Th...Thank Y...You for... Wh...What you did... F...For Naru-Kun," Sakura said in a nervous stutter.

Naruto and Kakashi's eyes went wide, as not once had either of them ever hear Sakura use a suffix with the blonde's name that was reserved for Sasuke. This certainly added to the random shocking moments that the rosette had been doing this morning. Even the Kyuubi was in clear shock by her difference in mood as his jaw hits the floor.

"You are welcome Sakura Haruno. But the thanks goes to Naruto for finding me," Zangetsu finally said in his deep rough voice.

Turning around but still sitting, Naruto looked up at his Zanpaktou with warm grin. Zangetsu looks down with the same stoic expression, though the blond could tell that he was somewhat pleased.

"Zangetsu-Jiji, I've got a favor to ask. You think you can help train me?"

"That was my every intent. You remember the hidden trick about the Kage Bunshin?"

Naruto smirked. "Glad I recalled that."

"Good, it will accelerate the process. But," Zangetsu paused as he looked back at Sakura.

The girl in question squeaked as she zoomed and hid behind Naruto, who turned to look at her half coyly, causing the poor girl to start blushing again.

"I will also be aiding in her training as well."


	4. Chapter 4 Training

Sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner. My computer crashed and i had to rewrite the chapter. For those of you saying im bashing characters please tell me which characters i am bashing so i can fix it or defend why im doing it. Also if you see any problems with the story please let me know so i can fix them.

I don't own Naruto or Bleach

Chapter 4

Training

Shock. That was the first emotion everyone felt at that statement. A wide eyed and speechless Sakura stuttered "W-Why me?"

Zangetsu calmly said "Because your reiryoku is awakening." At this everyone was looking between Zangetsu and Sakura with wide eyes and their jaws on the ground.

"M-Meet m-me in the clearing outside in one hour." A bewildered and weary Kakashi said.

With that Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura left to get ready for their training. As they left other emotions started to set in. Sasuke felt anger, Sakura felt determination, Kakashi felt weary, and Naruto felt happiness and pride.

Time skip clearing one hour later

When Sakura walks into the clearing for training, she sees Naruto in the center of something that shocks her to her core.

As Sakura starts to walk into the clearing she sees something that shocks her to her core. The clearing was covered in broken trees gouges and in the center of it was Naruto. He was panting and covered in dirt and cuts holding a sword that looked more akin to a giant butcher knife than a sword. The cutting edge of it was a pristine silver while the spine of the blade was a black darker than the darkest night. Its handle was covered in white bandages. As she was watching, he seemed to disappear only to reappear in a deadlock with Zangetsu who said "Your flash step is coming along well, Naruto." as he pushed Naruto away and dispelled his sword in a swirl of black and red flames.

"Thank you Master Zangetsu." Naruto said gratefully as he swung his sword on to his shoulder.

As if in a trance, Sakura tried to touch the blade only to get a nick on her finger. Naruto, seeing this, grabbed her finger and put it in his mouth to suck the blood off. Sakura seeing this started to blush a vibrant ruby red when he did this. As this was going on Zangetsu started to vanish back to the soul-scape.

After getting a little more training done Naruto and Sakura started walking back to Tazuna's house only to have to stop as Sakura collapsed from exhaustion near the ocean.

"Are you ok Sakura-Chan? You're pretty exhausted from training." Commented Naruto as he gave her a piggyback ride the rest of the way to Tazuna's house.

"I don't know. I- it's like I have these memories b-but they are kind of blurred and incomplete like something or- or maybe someone is missing from them." Sakura tried to explain "like the moon on the water I- I feel like I should know something."

As she said this she started to get light headed and woozy from exhaustion from training with what little reiryoku and chakra she had. So, as Naruto kept walking to the house she slowly fell into a deep sleep.

Sakura's Dream

Sakura found herself in a pinkish void with what looks like a younger her standing in front of a cracked mirror. Younger Sakura (YS) turned around saying "How could you? How could you make us forget about him?!"

"Who? Who did we forget about?" Sakura begged while crying, wishing to know who she had forgotten.

As she asked, she heard a horrible screeching and distorted images as younger Sakura tried to say the name. Soon after that, all she saw was black. While this was happening, Worried for her, Naruto set Sakura down on the docks and started shaking her to try to wake her up.

"Sakura, Sakura you alright?" worriedly question asked Naruto after he had set her down as because she was jerking as if she was having a nightmare.

"I'm fine." Sakura replied wearily as she got up from the ground thinking. _Who was that just now? What did she mean by forget? Who did I forget?_

While she was thinking, Naruto started to guide her towards Tazuna's house for the night.

The following day Sakura finds Naruto in the clearing yet again only this time he seemed to be covered in soot. At seeing this While trying not to giggle and failing miserably, she asked while trying not to giggle but was failing miserably "What happened?"

"Well. . ." Naruto started with his head down ashamed of how it happened. He started walking towards the closest stream as he started speaking.

Flashback

"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hado #31 Shakkaho!" Incanted Naruto.

After Naruto finished the incantation a red ball of flame started to form, about the size of a quarter, in his hand until it suddenly exploded blasting him back causing him to fall on his butt.

End Flashback

"And that's how it happened." Finished Naruto as he washed off the soot, his head still down in shame.

Sakura started to giggle at that as she imagined what it looked like. After Naruto finished cleaning up they started walking back towards Tazuna's when they heard "Dinners ready!"

Later that evening as everyone was sitting at the table Inari yelled "Why do you guys bother to try so hard?! No matter how hard you train, you're still no match for Gato's men! No matter what glorious claims you make or how hard you work, the weak will only end up getting killed!"

"What in the world kid we are trying to help here and your telling use to leave?! So, what if he has a few goons were ninja. It's our job to help. So, shut up and be quite." An angry Naruto said standing up.

Inari ignorantly yelled "why don't you go back to your perfect little village because you don't know anything about suffering!"

As he said those words a pressure suddenly filled the room causing Tazuna's family and Sakura to fall to the ground gasping for air and Sasuke started sweating. As suddenly as the pressure appeared it vanish with the sound of the front door slamming shut and the sounds of footsteps disappearing into the night. Soon to be followed by the sounds of trees crashing to the ground.

Outside in the clearing

A short time later in the clearing, as he swung his sword around bringing more trees down and cutting up the ground, Naruto kept thinking, " _Who does that kid think he is? I don't know what suffering is?"_ These were the thoughts of Naruto as he swung his sword around bringing down trees and cutting up the ground . " _What the child said is of ignorance and foolishness."_ Zangetsu said calmly _"Now calm down and save your energy for the fights ahead."_

As soon as he heard this he sat down to try to calm down while thinking _as true as that maybe it's still hard to not be angry about it._ After he calmed down he started working on the katas for Taijutsu until about an hour later when Naruto passed out from exhaustion.

Back at Tazuna's

Slowly and shakily Sakura and Tazuna's family stood up with Sakura shakenly saying "W- What was t-that s-strange p-pressure just now?"

Sasuke thought as he made his way to the door to get answers, but was still slightly shaken from the mysterious pressure _how can the dobe have this power? It should be mine not some no named orphan?_

"I don't know but don't try to find him right now. He was really angry and it would be hazardous to your health to be around him right now as you could get hurt by accident." Kakashi replied hastily as Sakura started towards the door making her and Sasuke stop in their tracks.

"Is it really safe to leave him out there by himself sensei?" asked a worried Sakura as she made her way back to her seat soon followed by Sasuke.

Next day in the clearing

As Naruto was sleeping in the clearing a beautiful young woman with raven black hair that goes to about mid back with bright brown eyes wearing a pink kimono with purple comma marks on it carrying a brown wicker basket. As she saw Naruto she frowned temporarily as she thought _that's one of the ninja protecting the bridge builder. What should I do?_

As she was having the internal struggle she had started walking closer to the boy till she was right next to him. At that point she decided shake him awake but jumped while jumping back slightly as he suddenly shot upright. "You'll catch a cold if you stay out here."

As Naruto was rubbing the sleep from his eyes she asked "What were you doing out here?"

"Training." Said a smiling Naruto as he stood up and started stretching trying to get the stiffness in his joints to go away.

"You seem strong enough already." she kindly said as she too stood up and started searching for the needed herbs "Do you know where true strength comes from?"

While she was asking, Naruto started picking the same herbs to help. Naruto froze and became confused _true strength? What does she mean by that?_

"What do you mean true strength?" asked a completely confused Naruto as he started picking the herbs again while handing her the ones he had already gathered.

"Do you have someone precious to you?" she asked.

"Yeah I do." Naruto said as he thought _Old man Sarutobi, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-Chan, Neko-kaa-Chan, and Old man Ichiraku and Ayame-nee-chan._

"Then you will become truly strong because I believe when a person has something important they want to protect that's when they can become truly strong _._ " She said with conviction and a smile.

For the next 30 minutes, he talked to her as he helped her. When they were done, she looked at him as they stood up and said kindly "My name is Haku and thanks for the help piking these herbs."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and your welcome." Replied Naruto in kind.

Five minutes after she left Sasuke came into the clearing scowling at the destruction that littered the clearing thinking _how can the dobe have this strength? It should be mine not some no named orphan?_ As he rudely said "Dobe, Kakashi sent me to get you as he and Sakura were worried about you."

After he said that he started walking back to the house with Naruto following behind shortly thereafter. When Naruto got to Tazuna's home he was greeted to the sight of a worried and angry Sakura, a lazy Kakashi, and a brooding Uchiha. As he opened the door they all turned to see who had opened the door. "Now that the last member of the team is here we can start todays training. Meet me in one hour in the clearing outside." Kakashi lazily said while eye smiling.

After Kakashi dismissed them Sasuke went back to his brooding. While Naruto and Sakura went upstairs to get their equipment ready for whatever training Kakashi had planned for them.

Time skip one hour

Later, in the clearing Kakashi started to tell the others what training they would focus on that day. "Alright today we are going to-" was as far as Kakashi got before " **ROAAAR**!"

The team took notice that the birds and animals had fled deeper into the forest. A frigid chill went down their spines and the roar erupted again. It sounded human, but at the same time it did not.

Zangetsu narrowed his eyes; "prepare yourself Naruto."

As soon as he said this Naruto held out his right arm and said calmly "Come forth Zangetsu." Right after he uttered those words his arm was covered in black and red flames that soon solidified in to the butcher-like blade.

While this was happening, Kakashi was looking around for the source of the noise but couldn't find it until he noticed that the air in front of the trees was shimmering. As he looked at it he seemed to see the outline of it and what he saw was a figure that towered over them, despite having a large bulbous stomach, its arms were heavily muscular, almost humanoid in appearance save for it having a pig-like head. When Naruto saw it he was thinking, with a sweat drop, _what the heck is this thing? "This is a hollow Naruto. Hollows are a race of creatures which are born from Human souls who, for various reasons, do not cross over to Soul Society after their death and stay in the Human World for too long. They are corrupt spirits with supernatural powers which devour the souls of both living and deceased Humans."_ Informed Zangetsu with a frown on his face.

While Zangetsu was telling Naruto this he was forced to dodge to the left because the hollow ran at him and tried to crush him by bringing both fists down on the spot where he was standing. After Zangetsu finished speaking Naruto became completely horrified and would have been crushed by the pig hollow had Kakashi not grabbed him. After Naruto was set down he started running at the hollow planning on cutting it from its left hip to right shoulder but had to dodge by jumping back. Sasuke and Sakura looked at Naruto like he was insane because they couldn't see anything. As soon as Naruto landed he took off again but had to duck as the hollow tried to backhand him.

After the hand passed over Naruto he jumped up onto it as the hollow tried to hit him again. When Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi saw Naruto seemingly standing in midair their jaws dropped to the ground. Their eyes nearly popped out their head when they saw Naruto seemingly running up a giant creature. When Naruto reached the top, he jumped up and brought Zangetsu straight down cutting the hollow in half. After the adrenaline left his system he fainted from the strain of fighting the hollow. When Kakashi saw this, he ran over to check on him to make sure he was alright. When he got their he heard " _ **ZZZZZZZZ"**_

At this Kakashi sweat dropped and picked Naruto up and started walking to the house saying "Training is done for the day lets head back." Hearing this broke Sasuke and Sakura out of their shock. When they registered what he said they started running towards Tazuna's house.

The next day

The next day Tazuna, Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakashi were sitting at the table staring at each other when Kakashi said "Let's go ahead to the bridge."

At this Sakura looked at Kakashi in complete confusion while asking "What about Naruto Kakashi-sensei?"

At this Kakashi sighed and then said "Leave him here to rest. Whatever he was fighting yesterday has left him exhausted."

Realization passed through Sakura as she heard this. After talking a few more minutes about little things, they left for the bridge not knowing how from that point everything changed. About 15 minutes after his team left Naruto was awoken to the scream of "LET MY MOTHER GO!"

At this, Naruto jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs just in time to see two mercenaries start towards Inari. Before they could react, Naruto threw two shuriken at their necks killing them instantly. After asking where his team went he started running towards the bridge only to backflip out of the way of a blue haired man that was wielding a sword made from yellow lightning that he immediately recognized as "Aoi Rokushō. "I'm going to be taking back that of which you stole." Said Naruto in a monotone voice.

At this Aoi started laughing. Arrogantly he said "You're more than welcome to try."

After he said that Naruto held out his right arm and said calmly "Come forth Zangetsu." Right after he uttered those words his arm was covered in black and red flames that soon solidified in to the butcher-like blade.

At this both their demeanors changed. One's face smirking, the other's set into a mask of in deference as they stared at each other suddenly they both moved meeting in the middle of the clearing swords posed to end the others life.


	5. author's note

This is not a chapter.

Im going to go ahead and apologize because the next chapter is going to be late as my health has been going down hill and about 2 weeks ago i found out a vertebra in my neck is pushing into my spinal cord and is causing me to lose the ability to walk and use my arms. i am working on the chapter but its just going to be slow until sometime after June when i go see the doctor to see what needs to be have patience with me as i try to get through this and hopefully get better.  
Until next time

Demonlover3


	6. authors note

thank you all for understanding and Sorry for not updating everyone. the appointment got canceled because logistic care messed up and had the pick up day for the day after. i am working on the next chapter but i have had to restart it as my computer finally died and i am trying to get a new one which will hopefully be this weekend and then it should only be acouple of day till i get the next chapter out so please bear with me


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